


i found myself a cheerleader

by askmeaboutmyoctopustheory



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, American Football, Cheerleaders, Coming Out, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-16 05:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18514399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askmeaboutmyoctopustheory/pseuds/askmeaboutmyoctopustheory
Summary: Regular American High School AU.Cheer Captain Klaus and Football Star Diego!





	i found myself a cheerleader

 

_ “At the end of the third quarter, Hargreeves High Krakens are up by two touchdowns! _ **”** The football announcer crackled into the chilly fall air over the field.

 

**K-R-A-K-E-N-S GO! GO! KRAKENS!**

 

The cheerleaders moved into their large stunt formation, with the lanky captain performing tumbling runs in the front. The green and teal bedecked crowd roared as the cheerleaders hit the final stunt just as the buzzer rang, signifying the start of the fourth quarter. 

 

“Go Krakens!” The male captain, Klaus cheered as his teammates gracefully dismounted from their stunts. 

 

“Saw you hit that full twist, congrats K.” Klaus’s co-captain Vanya climbed onto her box next to him. She grinned and nodded towards the field. “And they put your boy in for final quarter.”

 

“Shhhhh. Vanya! Not everyone knows he’s my boy.” Klaus hissed in protest. 

 

Vanya only sent him a skeptical look in return before going back to paying attention to the game. The player in question was a junior hotshot tight end named Diego. He had caught Klaus’s attention back when they were doing summer training and he had developed a bit of a crush. By some stroke of fate, Diego had also noticed Klaus during the first home game and they had been dating in secret ever since. They would trade rushed kisses under the bleachers in uniform, knowing that high school football wasn’t the most queer-friendly sport. Off the field, Diego was soft spoken and wrote for the school newspaper. He got good grades and always hugged his single mother at the end of all his games. He was well set up to take over captain when the quarterback, Luther, graduated this year.

 

**Green! Teal! Intercept and Steal!**

 

Vanya called a cheer, interrupting Klaus from his daydream about his boyfriend’s football pants. He picked up his megaphone and chanted at the crowd, always loving the thrill of energy that came from an exciting game. He caught the eye of the band’s drum major, Ben, who made a hand symbol at him. After the cheer was over, Klaus nodded at the drumline to begin a beat.

 

“Drum dance 3! Ready? 5, 6, 7, 8” Klaus shouted to his team. 

 

The team launched into their synchronized movements, spinning and moving into a small stunt formation. They hit the stunts and the crowd cheered loudly. 

 

As they turned back to the game, Hargreeves High got possession of the ball and Luther had called a full length time out. Before Vanya or Klaus could call a cheer, the voice of their student body president came over the PA.

 

_ “What’s crackin’ Krakens? It’s Allison here, got a few announcements. This is the last regular season game, and playoffs start next week with our opponent decided based on tonight’s score! Next Wednesday we’re going to have a pep rally and include a fundraiser for Mr. Hargreeves’ own Umbrella Academy for displaced youth! For $1 a piece you’ll be able to buy 12 inches of duct tape and we will be taping our own cheer captain Klaus to the main entry hall! Go krakens!” _

 

The crowd and cheerleaders alike roared in laughter as Klaus turned around and waved cheekily. On field, the Krakens had possession of the ball. Klaus saw his boyfriend duck and weave through the mass of bodies around him before jumping and twisting midair to catch the ball. Klaus yelled “YES!” at the same time there was a sickening crunch. Whistles and flags flew through the air as boos rang out through the home crowd. When the team medic came on the field and the team stepped back from the player laying on the ground clutching his arm, Klaus could see it was Luther. 

 

_ “Foul, Peabody Knights, roughing the passer. 5 yard penalty. First down” _

 

Luther walked off the field and was given a standing ovation, but his throwing arm was held at a grotesque angle. The junior quarterback blanched as Luther slapped his shoulder pads before hurrying onto the field. 

 

\-------

 

The monday issue of the school paper, _ 20,000 Reads Under the Sea _ , confirmed everyone’s worst assumption. Luther, the first-string quarterback and football captain, was injured for the playoff season of his senior year. The author reassured the readers that he had already signed for a college sports scholarship, so his future was secured. But as Klaus skimmed the article in between classes, his eye was drawn to the final few sentences.

 

_ “For playoffs season, Luther Way will step down as captain, to be replaced by Junior tight end Diego Robbins.” _

 

The bell rang, signifying the start of the next class period as Klaus just stood dumbfounded at the paper. He ducked into the bathroom quickly, knowing that the hall monitors would be sweeping for tardies. He could afford to skip English, so he went to where Diego parked his car so they could have an extended lunch. Klaus leaned against his boyfriend’s old mustang and ran through the routine for the pep rally in his head. 

 

“Hey there, hotshot.” Diego’s voice came from behind him.

 

“Oh hi _ captain _ ” Klaus shot back, raising his eyebrow as Diego flushed and looked awkwardly to the side.

 

“Oh y-y-ou saw that?” Diego stammered as he scratched the scar on the side of his head. “It’s nothing….”   
  
“Di!” Klaus spoke harshly, his hands still in fists from mentally going through his routine. He took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders and looped his arms around Diego’s waist. “I just don’t want you to get injured. I’m happy for you though.”

 

“Thanks.” Diego looked down as he flushed happily. “Want to go back to my place for lunch? My mom’s got leftover enchiladas”

 

Klaus knew better than to say no to Grace’s enchiladas, so a few minutes later they were both seated at the dining room table with reheated food in front of them. Grace herself bustled around, fussing over them even though they insisted she didn’t need to. Diego and his mother had a unique relationship, since his father had never been present. Grace had had Diego very young and had relied on her own parents as she went to night school to get a better job. Many of the football team had regrettably made rude comments about her youthful and beautiful appearance, only to get Diego’s fist to the face. Grace loved Klaus, who called her ma’am and asked her about her job as a morning preschool teacher. Stuffed full of enchiladas, Diego and Klaus drove back to school.

 

By the pep rally, most of the student body had learned of Diego’s promotion to captain for post-season. Allison called him up with the other first-string players for the “Crack ‘em Krakens” cheer. Klaus’s heart went out to his stuttering boyfriend who was put on the spot and asked in front of everyone what his tactic for playoffs was going to be. Finally, the cheerleaders went through their routine and Allison stuck the first piece of tape to Klaus’s arm to begin the fundraiser.

 

Klaus wiggled around in his duct tape prison to try and scratch his back. It was during class and he was all alone taped to the wall. The ooccasional student would wander to the bathroom or office, but the halls were empty and quiet.

 

“Lonely?” A familiar voice teased him.

 

“Got an itch on my back.” Klaus looked down at Diego, grinning wickedly with a strips of tape.

 

He stuck tape over both of Klaus’s wrists and then smirked up at him. Diego looked around over his shoulders before leaning up and kissing Klaus. He pulled back much too soon, making Klaus thrash more in the grip of the tape. 

 

\-----

 

“ _ Krakens win first playoff game 49-42” _

 

_ “Krakens take another playoff W in OT!” _

 

_ “Krakens continue to shine with Robbins leading” _

 

_ “KRAKENS UPSET TO CLINCH PLAYOFF FINALS SPOT!” _

 

As the football team swept their way through the playoffs, the student body became a mess of school spirit. Klaus was looking over the latest issue of the paper, which was going over Diego’s playing style and asking the coaches their opinion on the odds of winning the championship. Klaus felt a twist of jealousy in his gut as he heard two girls in his statistics class pouring over the paper.   
  
“Does he have a girlfriend? What a lucky lady.” The first one sighed.

 

“I’ve never seen him with anyone, maybe she goes to a different school.”

 

“He can’t look like that and be single.”

 

Their stats teacher had apparently decided to give into the school spirit, as their worksheets and homework was all about sports odds and averages. The cheerleaders were even extra spirited, practicing before and after school for more impressive stunts and tumbling passes at the finals. By Friday, schoolwork had been shunted aside and the bathrooms had become covered green and teal makeup. Klaus had repainted his megaphone and all of the cheerleaders were in their competition uniforms for the occasion. The band played through their pre-game show, the coin was flipped and game had begun. 

 

\------

 

The final quarter had everyone on edge. Klaus’s voice was hoarse and his hands stung from clapping. Krakens were down by 7 points with only 4 minutes left. They had possession of the ball and Diego called them into a huddle. His eye black was running down his face, his pupils wide with adrenaline. He looked around at the team, who had all had his back during all of the games. He nodded at the rookie quarterback, who had been shaking in his cleats ever since being put in for Luther. Before heading back out to the field, he glanced up to the seats where his mother was wearing his practice jersey and clapping. He saw Klaus jumping and pumping up the crowd.

 

The touchdown was the easy part, relatively speaking. Diego called for the extra point to be a two-point conversion. He saw the defensive line of the other team cracking their knuckles and jumping up to get ready to tackle him. When the ball was hiked, the Kraken’s receivers scattered, running back and forth as Diego ran straight towards the goal line. He jumped to catch the ball and leant towards the end zone so he would hopefully land behind the goal line. He felt someone swipe at his foot but he kicked and made contact with a helmet, using it as a slight step to tuck and roll into the end zone. He had a moment with his feet on the ground before he was swarmed by the team, being lifted and jumped on and clapped on the back.

 

The crowd was loud. They were screaming and the band was playing wildly. The cheerleaders were surely going to have no voices after the game. But they had won. The team jogged towards the home bleachers as the student body sang along to the school fight song. Diego’s heart was pounding from joy and adrenaline. He saw Klaus jumping and clapping happily and suddenly his feet were running towards him. 

 

“Di?” Klaus had a second to react as Diego launched himself at him, but Klaus reacted with the skills of a male cheerleader to catch him in a cradled position.

 

They laughed and Klaus spun happily. Diego reached his arms around Klaus’s neck and kissed him deeply. The crowd roared around them, their eyeblack and cheek glitter mixed as they pulled apart. They had won.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> As usual thanks to the kliego discord for the idea and being my own cheerleaders
> 
> I was a cheerleader and in marching band in high school and college but let me know if there are any mistakes lol.
> 
> My twitter is @_AMAMOT if you want to come chat with me!


End file.
